Egg Donor & Surrogacy Law Blog : Surrogacy and Egg Donation Lawyer & Attorney : Theresa Erickson : Erickson Law Firm : Practicing Reproductive and Gestational Carrier Law

India Surrogacy & German Twins - the twins born to a surrogate in India approximately two years ago have hit another legal hurdle.   The Indian courts had requested that the German government grant the children temporary visas so that the couple can finally go home from India with their children.  However, news reports now state that Germany has rejected the parents' bid for the visas.  The German government stated that their only real option was to adopt the twins.  A cautionary tale for all when thinking about reproductive tourism.

The twins of a German couple born to an Indian surrogate mother may have a chance to go to Germany – if the couple decides to adopt them. The Supreme Court asked the couple if they would consider adopting the two-year-olds as Germany does not recognise surrogate motherhood.

The apex court Monday asked Jan Balaaz and his wife if they would consider adopting the children after Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told the court that Germany does not recognise surrogate motherhood, but allows international adoption of children by its citizens.

Subramanium told the bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice Asok Ganguly that in the given scenario, the German couple may consider adopting the twins.

He gave the information during hearing of a lawsuit by the government challenging the Gujarat High Court ruling which had directed the government to give Indian passport to the twins born to Jan Balaaz and his wife through a surrogate Indian mother.

The apex court has asked the couple to take their decision and apprise it within two days.

The apex court on Jan 4 asked the central government to try to settle the tangled issue of citizenship of the twins through diplomatic channels. The children were born to Gujarati surrogate mother Marthaben.

The government is opposed to grant an Indian passport to the twins on the ground that it would mean granting them Indian citizenship.

The Gujarat High Court in its order on a lawsuit by the German couple ordered passports for the twins born in January 2008.

The couple came to India in December 2006 in search of a surrogate mother and entered into an agreement with Marthaben, according to which she lost her right over the child after delivery.

On the plea of the German couple last month, the apex court asked the government to provide travel documents to the twins within 48 hours, while asking them to approach the German embassy for visa to the twins.

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Hello, everyone, sorry for the long time between posts, but today is a great one by our own Corey Whelan of the American Fertility Association.  She wrote an excellent article in the Examiner on Reproductive Tourism that I think is a must read:

"Increasingly, we find ourselves living in a global society. Through online communication, and social networking initiatives like twitter and ......  read more here.

Ms. Whelan continue as follows: "This story does not represent an isolated incident.  Family formation and reproductive law attorney,  Theresa Erickson, Esq., has researched programs in places such as India, Thailand, and the Ukraine, where surrogacy is not regulated or supported by law.  Erickson has found that on average the financial costs are usually not much different from those found  in our country, especially when you figure in the risks that must be undertaken legally, particularly in places where the levels of medical technology, safety, and privacy regulation is lower than our own.

Erickson noted that the intended parents in this case thought they had done everything right.  They contacted the appropriate authorities early on in their search.  And yet, neither they, nor their babies, were protected by law.  Also unprotected in this case was their surrogate, or their anonymous Indian egg donor.

In countries where poverty is widespread, inferior medical care, as well as poor nutrition and substandard sanitary conditions are the consistent norm.  Indian women living under these conditions may feel a level of coercion  when considering the financial escape hatch that surrogacy can give them.  An Indian surrogate can expect to earn somewhere between $3,000- $6,000 as a surrogate.  In a country where the per capita income is not quite $500 per year, this is a staggering sum.

Is this exploitation?  Or is it rather a great opportunity for the women now being outsourced to play this role?  Says Prospective Families Donor Agency founder and long time donor advocate, Amy Demma, J.D.  "I have heard colleagues question pre-natal care and other clinical issues. There are risks, and they are serious".    

As there are no official records about surrogates kept in India, we do not know how many women give birth to babies in this way, nor do we know how many failed attempts there are.  We also do not know the quality of medical care that these women will receive after they give birth, or how they will be cared for if medical complications related to the birth occur.

Everything possible should be done  to obtain accurate information about the care your surrogate has and will receive both before,during, and after her pregnancy. "

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